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Ruth Comfort Mitchell
Ruth Comfort Mitchell Young (1882-1954) was an American poet, novelist, and playwright who wrote under her maiden name, Ruth Comfort Mitchell, as well as her married name, Mrs. Sanborn Young. Life Mitchell was born and grew up in San Francisco, California. She spent summers in the town of Los Gatos, California, where her parents and grandparents had summer homes. At the age of 14, she had a poem published in the local Los Gatos Mail newspaper, thus launching her literary career, which continued throughout her lifetime. In 1914, literary friends in San Francisco introduced her to Sanborn Young, who had recently sold his grain business and was traveling. The couple were married in October 1914 in the Grand Canyon and moved to New York City, where Ruth continued her literary pursuits, and he studied photography. Mitchell wrote novels, poems, short stories, and plays. A play, The Sweetmeat Game (1916), was set in San Francisco's Chinatown, and inspired her to design her house, known as the Yung See San Fong House, in a Chinese style. Because of her fame, many of the literati visited her house. The Youngs were known to be friendly with President Herbert Hoover, Robert W. Service, Gertrude Atherton, Gertrude Stein, and Fremont Older. Others who were known to visit the house included actresses Joan and Constance Bennett, Senator James D. Phelan, and Governor William D. Stephens. Miller was involved with the annual Los Gatos Pageant, the Los Gatos Christian Church, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Los Gatos History Club. Both the Youngs were involved in Republican politics. Ruth served as Republican National Committeewoman from California for 8 years and as national and state president of Pro-America, an organization of Republican women founded in 1933. Sanborn Young served as a California state senator for 13 years. In February 1954, Miller was found dead in the bathtub. Sanborn Young died 10 years later. Publications Poetry *''The Night Court, and other verse. New York: Century, 1916. *''Narratives in Verse. New York & London: Appleton, 1923. Play *''The Sweetmeat Game: A play in one act''. New York & London: Samuel French, 1916. Novels *''Play the Game!. New York & London: Appleton, 1921; London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1925. *Jane Journeys On. New York & London: Appleton, 1922; London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1925. *''Corduroy. New York & London: Appleton, 1923; London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1925. *''A White Stone''. New York & London: Appleton, 1924; London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1925. *''The Wishing Carpet''. New York & London: Appleton, 1926. *''Call of the House''. New York & London: Appleton, 1927. *''Army with Banners''. New York & London: Appleton, 1928. *''Water''. New York & London: Appleton, 1931. *''The Legend of Susan Dane''. New York & London: Appleton, 1933. *''Old San Francisco''. (4 volumes), . New York & London: Appleton-Century, 1933. *''Strait Gate''. New York & London: Appleton-Century, 1935. *''Of Human Kindness. New York & London: Appleton-Century, 1940. *''Dust of Mexico. New York & London: Appleton-Century, 1941. *''They Shall Come Again''. New York & London: Appleton-Century, 1944. Short fiction *''His Wife Could Eat No Lean''. Book Club of California (Contemporary California short stories #6), 1937. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Ruth Comfort Mitchell, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, July 18, 2015. Poems by Ruth Comfort Mitchell #Saint John of Nepomuc See also *List of U.S. poets References * Notes External links ;Poems *"The Night Court" *"Saint John of Nepomuc" in Poetry: A magazine of verse, 1912-1922 * Short radio episode "Ed's Daughter" from Of Human Kindness, California Legacy Project. ;Books * *Ruth Comfort Mitchell at Amazon.com ;Audio / video Category:20th-century American novelists Category:American women novelists Category:American women poets Category:American women short story writers Category:1882 births Category:1954 deaths Category:Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area Category:20th-century American poets Category:American women dramatists and playwrights Category:20th-century women writers Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Category:20th-century poets Category:American poets Category:American women writers Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Women poets